Rafael Nadal lost at the Australian Open due to a hip injury

Rafael Nadal said he felt “sad” and “tired” on Wednesday following his earliest Grand Slam elimination since the 2016 Australian Open when he was eliminated in the first round.

The defending champion and No. 1 seed at Melbourne Park injured his left hip and lost to Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in the second round, abruptly ending his bid for a record 23rd Grand Slam trophy.

“This is a tough moment. It’s a tough day,” Nadal said.

“I can’t say I’m not mentally devastated at this point because I would be lying.”

On the night, 2022 French Open runner-up Coco Gauff beat 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanou 6–3, 7–6 (4) in a second round meeting between the two young stars.

“I know a lot of people were looking forward to this match,” Gauff said.

“I’m glad we took first place. I hope we delivered.”

Seeded men who won included No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime, No. 7 Daniil Medvedev runner-up to Nadal last year and Novak Djokovic in 2021, No. 15 Yannick Sinner and No. 16 Francis. Tiafoe

To find out more, watch the Euronews report in the video above.